Heimir Hallgrímsson has called on three League of Ireland players to join his squad for next Saturday’s international friendly against Canada.
Ireland travel to Montréal for what they would have hoped would be a World Cup warm-up.
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The squad is much changed from that which beat Qatar 1-0 in Dublin last week, and Heimir has now added three League of Ireland players to the travelling squad to bring the total number of LOI stars to seven.
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Heimir calls up three newcomers for Canada
Matt Healy of Shamrock Rovers and Kian Leavy of St. Patrick’s Athletic have joined the Ireland squad for Saturday’s friendly against Canada in Montréal.
16-year-old Josh O’Reilly, who looks set to join Red Bull Salzburg this summer, will also travel as a training player, but will not feature in the friendly.
It brings the total number of League of Ireland players in the travelling group to seven.
Ed McGinty and Adam Brennan (both Shamrock Rovers), Conor Brann (Cork City), and Dawson Devoy (Bohemians) will also travel to Montréal.
With the likes of Troy Parrott, Liam Scales, and Jaden Umeh also in the squad, it intriguingly means that the majority of the squad play their football outside the English league system.
Of the 22 playing members of the travelling squad, only nine play for English clubs, with six playing in Ireland, three in Scotland, and one apiece in Italy, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.
Both of the auxiliary squad members also play outside of England.
It’s an intriguing evolution, which shows that there is a path to the Ireland squad for players plying their trade on the continent. Hallgrímsson is evidently intent on using this camp to get to know more players from leagues with less Irish eyes traditionally on them.
Several players have departed the camp since the Qatar friendly, with Caoimhín Kelleher, Dara O’Shea, Jack Moylan, and Jayson Molumby returning to their respective clubs.
Ireland play Canada next Saturday, June 6th, with kick-off at 00:30 Irish time.
Ireland squad to play Canada
Goalkeepers: Mark Travers (Everton), Ed McGinty (Shamrock Rovers), Conor Brann (Cork City)
Defenders: Séamus Coleman (Everton), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Liam Scales (Celtic), James Abankwah (Watford), Corrie Ndaba (Lecce), Alex Murphy (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Joe Hodge (Tondela), Killian Phillips (St Mirren), Jamie McGrath (Hibernian), Conor Coventry (Charlton Athletic), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Matt Healy (Shamrock Rovers), Kian Leavy (St. Patrick’s Athletic)
Forwards: Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Mason Melia (Tottenham Hotspur), Jaden Umeh (Benfica), Adam Brennan (Shamrock Rovers), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town)
Training players: Owen Elding (Hibernian), Josh O’Dwyer (Shamrock Rovers)
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28 May 2026; Corrie Ndaba of Republic of Ireland during the international friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Qatar at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile